What a week

A full time musician who was actually trained in music can't help but count his blessings. I have been a full-time musician since graduating college in 1990, but every year I feel more full-time than ever. Take this past week, for instance: I finished up chairing a search committee at school, played two recitals, rehearsed Avenue Q, and am now practicing furiously for a recording project in two weeks. And I celebrated my birthday.

And yet on top of all this was a nasty head cold that threatened to lay me out for several days. But as is any workaholic's mantra, "I'm too busy to get sick." And so busy I stayed. It might be a mistake in the future to carry on so hard, but I'm happy to report that I'm back and working away. My dean has encouraged me on multiple occasions to take some time for myself. I wonder what he's trying to say. I can't imagine what the problem might be ...

Still memorizing

I was taught, not merely commanded, to memorize. (I have discussed that difference before.) But even though it is a painstaking process to get there, that feeling of euphoria that comes after finishing memorizing a piece is unbeatable. The piece on my mind today is the Dupré A-flat Prelude and Fugue, a masterpiece of counterpoint, yet an intense sojourn of beauty. Truly one of the most magnificent organ pieces ever written. It has been on my bucket list for years, and it's finally here. I'll be "premiering" it at Appalachian State on March 1 at 8pm Eastern. Also on that program will be BWV 651, the Böhm Partita on Freu' dich sehr, and Rachel Laurin's romping transcription of the Brahms/Handel Variations.

My memorizing life has changed with the addition of a black cat to the household. He paws me for food, meows in my ear, and walks across the other manual. So long as I don't try to incorporate those sounds in my memory, I think I'll be okay. Otherwise, I may crash and burn in performance if I don't hear meowing at the right time...

An obscure anniversary

My mother kept everything in her calendar.

Her handwritten calendar.

Every year, she would get a new calendar and start transferring all information she wanted to preserve from the previous year into the upcoming one. This birthday, that anniversary, etc. But she would also transfer other events such as the dog's birthday, the dog's death day, the date of a major surgery, the death of a beloved cousin. The amount of information looked to us like much ado about nothing, until we discovered when going through her estate that she had SAVED all previous years' calendars. Therefore, when it was all said and done, we had a perfectly preserved record of pretty much her entire adult life and our family history.

As it turns out, I do the same thing. But my calendar is electronic, and therefore, a lot less trouble. I have created simple annual repeating events that pop up from day to day. And so I, too, am able to remember this birthday or that birthday. And I have found it satisfying nostalgic to be reminded that a particular day was the death of one of my dear classmates or family member or a major milestone in my career. And it has promoted much good will in my family for me to be able to call the grieving one year after a death and say, "Hey, I'm thinking about you today. I know what today is." Much ado about nothing? Maybe to some. To me, it's a promotion of necessary parts of human life: fellowship, support, remembering together.

All that to say that today, February 1, my iPhone has reminded me of the start date in 1997 of my seven-year tenure as the organist at First Presbyterian Church of Houston, Tex. That day, I really felt I had arrived -- in charge of beautiful instruments, working with beloved conductors, making soon-to-be beloved friends in the choir, and beginning to learn more about organ chamber air conditioner breakdowns than I ever wanted to know.

Anyway, happy anniversary to me, for an event that ended in 2004. And an early Happy Groundhog Day to you.

Losing my mind

I'm in the thick of chairing our search for a new director of orchestral activities. When you have a looming deadline and people who don't respond to emails or phone calls, you tend to lose your mind.

I'm also in the thick of finishing up memorizing the Dupré A-flat Prelude & Fugue. When you are presented with such a masterful composition with two subjects and two counter-subjects, you lose your mind. In a good way.

I'm also in the thick of saying goodbye to my cat, Sebastian, whom we adopted just last November when his mistress, my aunt, died. Sebastian now appears to have some sort of lymphoma, and it is not wasting any time.

But speaking of Sebastian, a wonderful bit of trivia came to mind a few days ago. In my last News post before this one is a vague movie reference. I was considering adopting "Bagheera," a gray tabby, to be Sebastian's brother. The real Bagheera was the black panther in The Jungle Book. But Sebastian is the black cat, and therefore the two kitties ought to exchange names if Bagheera comes into the fold! But this gets even better: the voice of Bagheera in Disney's The Jungle Book was SEBASTIAN Cabot! While part of a mind is lost, another part finds beauty and joy in some details.

Then there's Avenue Q, which I am music directing this semester.

Then there's a recording on one of my favorite Aeolian-Skinners of all time.

Then there's my continued work on my in-house organ lit textbook.

And there's good exercise shoveling snow.

Semesterly duties

Spring semester. It's that time of year again. This college town of Boone, N.C., is once again full of students and traffic. And true to form, the weather is howling outside with wind and sideways-flying snow. Spring? More like endless winter. It's a blast; trust me. An Arctic blast.

But it's an exciting new semester with lots of new things in my life: My in-house textbook on organ literature is ready for presentation, chapter-by-chapter, to my class. I am enjoying learning lots of new music, my favorite of which is the Dupré A-flat Prelude and Fugue. I have all my early-in-the-semester paperwork completed. And my adopted cousin, Sebastian, is doing well. He's a black cat, and I'm thinking about getting him a gray Tabby brother named Bagheera. If I do, then maybe I should switch their names! Think about that for a moment while you ponder one of my favorite movies of all time.

Whatever your January dealings right now, I wish you all best in them. Happy 2016.